A "26-L" air brake system is an equipment package which has been designed to meet present day train handling requirements. This system uses air, under pressure, for the braking of locomotives and trailing freight or passenger vehicles. This system has been designed and developed by the Westinghouse Airbrake Company (WABCO), the assignees of the present invention.
A "26-L" system can include either a "26-C" air brake control valve or a "26-F" air brake control valve as the primary controlling device in this equipment arrangement. These valves provide the manual means for initiating air brake application and releases.
The "26-C" valve is used for passenger locomotives and cars. The "26-F" valve is used for freight locomotives and cars. The present invention can be applied to either the "26-C" or the "26-F" system and thus the term 26-Type is meant to encompass either of these braking systems.
The 26-Type braking system relies on the transfer of air down the train, which propagates at a certain time frame, to achieve stopping of the train. This type of braking system has several disadvantages. One disadvantage of the system is the requirement of the train to have a long enough stopping distance to compensate for the time it takes for the air to be transferred down the train. Also, care must be taken to ensure that the air supply has been sufficiently replenished after a brake application or a series of brake applications prior to another brake application. Additionally, this currently used 26-Type braking system is limited in the number of units that may be placed within a train consist because of the system's inability to react quickly to reductions at the lead unit over long distances.
A system for electronically controlling the pneumatics of the 26-Type braking system which overcomes the disadvantages of the currently used 26-Type braking systems is the subject of the aforementioned co-pending application entitled "26-Type Electronic Controlled Pneumatics".
There is currently no industry invention that allows access to 26-Type braking systems through some sort of accessible device or plate. Other types of electronic controlled pneumatic systems are available in the marketplace, however, these systems are only designed to access freight braking systems using related freight braking devices. No access plates are currently available to allow entry to a 26-Type system, or more particularly a 26F or 26C control valve, a system which allows for the graduated release of brake cylinder pressure.
The present invention is directed to an access plate which provides access to porting to allow for electronic controlled braking of 26-Type braking systems.
Additionally, there are no access plates related to 26-Type equipment that allow for single car testing features while the car control valve is on the overall unit. The present invention will enable an operator to perform this single car testing.